Cumbria Earthquake Centred On Lake District

A small earthquake with a 2.1 magnitude has hit Cumbria.

The British Geological Survey said the tremor, which started at a depth of 3.1 miles (6km), struck in Patterdale after 9.30pm on Wednesday.

Several Cumbrian residents took to Twitter to discuss the episode.

One tweeted: "So just a small earthquake - 2.1 - though thought my mum was jump through the roof. Totally freaked her out."

Another said: "Small earthquake felt in Cumbria - epicentre was close by but I didn't notice anything."

According to the BGS, the UK experiences about 20 earthquakes a year of similar strength.

Glenn Ford, from the BGS, said: "This is a very typical British earthquake, just large enough to be felt by the general public, which is approximately 10% of all the earthquakes detected annually in the UK."

The BGS said the earthquake was not linked to fracking - a controversial technique for extracting gas deep underground - which was blamed for last year's tremors in Lancashire.

Two minor quakes with magnitudes of 2.3 and 1.5 in April and May rattled the Blackpool area and resulted in test drilling being suspended.

A report by independent experts last November found the fracking technique, which injects water, sand and chemicals into shale rock under high pressure to release gas, was almost certainly to blame.

The last time an earthquake struck Cumbria was in Coniston in December 2010, measuring 3.5.

In April 2009, a 3.7 magnitude tremor hit Ulverston and could be felt around Barrow, Kendal and Windermere.